Rack assembly

ABSTRACT

A rack assembly includes a rack body and a jet generating device. The rack body is configured to hold a plurality of servers that are displaced from each other by a passageway. The jet generating device is disposed in the passageway and includes a partition wall, a proximal barrier, and a distal barrier. The partition wall is disposed to define an inflow path and an outflow path. When cooling air is drawn into the inflow path, the cooling air is blocked by the distal barrier such that the cooling air is forced to flow into the outflow path through internal ports of the partition wall to generate a plurality of cooling air jets, which impinge on and cool one of the servers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Taiwanese application no.104137429, filed on Nov. 13, 2015.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a rack assembly, more particularly to a rackassembly including a jet generating device by which servers stored inthe rack assembly can be cooled in a more efficient manner.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, with the popularization of smart phones, the number ofservers deployed in a data center is vastly increased. For steadyoperation of the servers, a computer room air conditioning (CRAC) systemis used to keep the servers at a low temperature. As shown in FIG. 1, aserver rack has a rack body 9 defining a storage space 90, and aplurality of servers 91 are disposed in the storage space 90 and held bythe rack body 9. A passageway 93 is defined between two adjacent ones ofthe servers 91. Cooling air is drawn into the storage space 90 by a fan(not shown) and is directed to pass through the passageway 93 along anarrow (P) to cool the servers 91. However, the cooling of the servers 91entails the consumption of significant power. Therefore, there is a needto improve the efficiency of the cooling of the servers 91.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a rack assemblyincluding a jet generating device by which servers stored in the rackassembly can be cooled in a more efficient manner.

According to the disclosure, a rack assembly is used for storage of aplurality of servers each having top and bottom walls, and includes arack body and a jet generating device. The rack body has therein astorage space extending in an upright direction, and is configured tohold the plurality of the servers in the storage space such that theservers are displaced from each other in the upright direction by apassageway which extends in a transverse direction transverse to theupright direction to terminate at an inlet and an outlet, and which isdefined by the bottom wall of a first one of the servers and the topwall of a next one of the servers. The jet generating device includes atleast one partition wall, at least one proximal barrier, and a distalbarrier. The partition wall is disposed in the passageway and extends inthe transverse direction to terminate at proximal and distal marginaledges which are adjacent to the inlet and the outlet, respectively. Thepartition wall divides the passageway into an inflow path and at leastone outflow path disposed downstream of the inflow path. The partitionwall has a plurality of internal ports each of which is disposeddownstream of the inflow path and upstream of the outflow path. Theproximal barrier extends from the proximal marginal edge toward one ofthe bottom wall of the first one of the servers and the top wall of thenext one of the servers. The distal barrier extends from the distalmarginal edge toward the other one of the bottom wall of the first oneof the servers and the top wall of the next one of the servers. Whencooling air is drawn into the inflow path through the inlet, the coolingair is blocked by the distal barrier such that the cooling air is forcedto flow into the outflow path through the internal ports to generate aplurality of cooling air jets, which impinge on said one of the bottomwall of the first one of the servers and the top wall of the next one ofthe servers before flowing out through the outlet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent inthe following detailed description of the embodiments with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional server rack;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a rack assembly according to a firstembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a partition wall of the rack assembly of FIG.2; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a rack assembly according to a secondembodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be notedthat like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughoutthe disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 2, a rack assembly 900 is used for storage of aplurality of servers 91 each having top and bottom walls 911, 912. Therack assembly 900 includes a rack body 9 and a jet generating device100.

The rack body 9 has therein a storage space 90 extending in an uprightdirection (Z), and is configured to hold the plurality of servers 91 inthe storage space 90 such that the servers 91 are displaced from eachother in the upright direction (Z) by a passageway 93. The passageway 93extends in a transverse direction (Y) transverse to the uprightdirection (Z) to terminate at an inlet 931 and an outlet 932, and isdefined by the bottom wall 912 of a first one of the servers 91 and thetop wall 911 of a next one of the servers 91.

In this embodiment, the rack body 9 is used to hold the servers 91(e.g., blade servers). In other embodiments, the rack body 9 may be usedto hold other computing devices, such as network equipment, powerequipment, communication equipment, etc.

The jet generating device 100 includes at least one partition wall 21,at least one proximal barrier 11, and a distal barrier 12.

The partition wall 21 is disposed in the passageway 93 and extends inthe transverse direction (Y) to terminate at proximal and distalmarginal edges 212, 213 which are adjacent to the inlet 931 and theoutlet 932, respectively. The partition wall 21 divides the passageway93 into an inflow path 934 and at least one outflow path 933 disposeddownstream of the inflow path 934. The partition wall 21 has a pluralityof internal ports 211 each of which is disposed downstream of the inflowpath 934 and upstream of the outflow path 933.

The proximal barrier 11 extends from the proximal marginal edge 212toward one of the bottom wall 912 of the first one of the servers 91 andthe top wall 911 of the next one of the servers 91. The distal barrier12 extends from the distal marginal edge 213 toward the other one of thebottom wall 912 of the first one of the servers 91 and the top wall 911of the next one of the servers 91.

In operation, for cooling the servers 91, cooling air (as indicated bydashed arrows 301, 302, 303) is driven into the storage space 90 by afan (not shown). When the cooling air is drawn into the inflow path 934through the inlet 931, the cooling air is blocked by the distal barrier12 such that the cooling air is forced to flow into the outflow path 933through the internal ports 211 to generate a plurality of cooling airjets, which impinge on said one of the bottom wall 912 of the first oneof the servers 91 and the top wall 911 of the next one of the servers 91before flowing out through the outlet 932. The heat generated by thefirst one of the servers 91 can be effectively transferred to thecooling air when the cooling air jets impinge on the bottom wall 912 ofthe first one of the servers 91.

In actual practice, a plurality of the jet generating devices 100 aredisposed respectively in the passageways 93 defined among the servers91. The heat generated by all of the servers 91 can be effectivelytransferred to the cooling air when the cooling air passes through allthe passageways 90.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the proximal barrier 11 extendsfrom the proximal marginal edge 212 to abut against the bottom wall 912of the first one of the servers 91 so as to ensure that all the coolingair jets flow out of the outflow path 933 through the outlet 932. Thedistal barrier 12 extends from the distal marginal edge 213 to abutagainst the top wall 911 of the next one of the servers 91 so as toensure that the cooling air flows into the outflow path 933 through theinternal ports 211.

In addition, the partition wall 21 is spaced apart from the bottom wall912 of the first one of the servers 91 by a distance (L1). When thedistance (L1) ranges from 13 mm to 45 mm, better heat transfer betweenthe cooling air and the bottom wall 912 of the first one of the servers91 can be achieved.

The proximal barrier 11 and the partition wall 21 define therebetween afirst included angle (a), which may be a right angle, an acute angle, oran obtuse angle. The distal barrier 12 and the partition wall 21 definetherebetween a second included angle (b), which may be a right angle, anacute angle, or an obtuse angle. In this embodiment, each of the firstand second included angles (a, b) is a right angle.

In this embodiment, the internal ports 211 respectively havecross-sectional areas. A sum of the cross-sectional areas of theinternal ports 211 is in a range from 1.5% to 20% based on a majorsurface area of the partition wall 21.

With reference to FIG. 3, the partition wall 21 has twenty-five internalports 211 each having a diameter (R). The internal ports 211 aredisplaced from each other in the transverse direction (Y) by a firstpredetermined distance (S1), and are displaced from each other in alongitudinal direction (X) by a second predetermined distance (S2). Thelongitudinal direction (X) is transverse to both of the uprightdirection (Z) and the transverse direction (Y). Each of the first andsecond predetermined distances (S1, S2) is two to eight times thediameter (R). In this embodiment, each of the first and secondpredetermined distances (S1, S2) is two times the diameter (R).

FIG. 4 shows a rack assembly according to a second embodiment of thedisclosure. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodimentexcept that the jet generating device 100 includes two partition walls21 and two proximal barriers 11.

The partition walls 21 are spaced apart from each other in the uprightdirection (Z) in the passageway 93 to define the inflow path 934therebetween. The partition walls 21 are respectively spaced apart fromthe bottom wall 912 of the first one of the servers 91 and the top wall911 of the next one of the servers 91 to define two of the outflow paths933, respectively.

The proximal barriers 11 extend away from each other and respectivelyfrom the proximal marginal edges 212 of the partition walls 21 to abutagainst the bottom wall 912 of the first one of the servers 91 and thetop wall 911 of the next one of the servers 91, respectively, such thatall the cooling air jets flow out of the outflow paths 933 through theoutlet 932.

The distal barrier 12 extends from the distal marginal edge 213 of oneof the partition walls 21 to connect with the distal marginal edge 213of the other one of the partition walls 21 so as to force the coolingair to flow into the outflow paths 933 through the internal ports 211 ofthe partition walls 21.

In this embodiment, the cooling air flows into the outflow paths 933 togenerate a plurality of cooling air jets, which impinge on the bottomwall 912 of the first one of the servers 91 and the top wall 911 of thenext one of the servers 91.

Furthermore, the upper partition wall 21 is spaced apart from the bottomwall 912 of the first one of the servers 91 by a distance (L1) rangingfrom 13 mm to 45 mm, and the lower partition wall 21 is spaced apartfrom the top wall 911 of the next one of the servers 91 by a distance(L2) ranging from 13 mm to 45 mm.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what areconsidered the exemplary embodiments, it is understood that thisdisclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intendedto cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope ofthe broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modificationsand equivalent arrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A rack assembly for storage of a plurality ofservers each having a top and a bottom walls, said rack assemblycomprising: a rack body which has therein a storage space extending inan upright direction, and which is configured to hold the plurality ofthe servers in said storage space such that the servers are displacedfrom each other in the upright direction by a passageway which extendsin a transverse direction transverse to the upright direction toterminate at an inlet and an outlet, and which is defined by the bottomwall of a first one of the servers and the top wall of a next one of theservers; and a fluid generating device including at least one partitionwall which is disposed in said passageway and which extends in thetransverse direction to terminate at proximal and distal marginal edgeswhich are adjacent to said inlet and said outlet, respectively, saidpartition wall dividing said passageway into an inflow path and at leastone outflow path disposed downstream of said inflow path, said partitionwall having a plurality of internal ports each of which is disposeddownstream of said inflow path and upstream of said outflow path, atleast one proximal barrier extending from said proximal marginal edgetoward one of (1) the bottom wall of the first one of the servers and(2) the top wall of the next one of the servers, and a distal barrierextending from said distal marginal edge toward the other one of (1) thebottom wall of the first one of the servers and (2) the top wall of thenext one of the servers, whereby when cooling air is drawn into saidinflow path through said inlet, the cooling air is blocked by saiddistal barrier such that the cooling air is forced to flow into saidoutflow path through said internal ports to generate a plurality ofcooling air jets, which impinge on said one of the bottom wall of thefirst one of the servers and the top wall of the next one of the serversbefore flowing out through said outlet, wherein said proximal barrierextends from said proximal marginal edge to abut against one of (1) thebottom wall of the first one of the servers and (2) the top wall of thenext one of the servers so as to ensure that the plurality of coolingair jets flow out of said outflow path through said outlet.
 2. The rackassembly according to claim 1, wherein said internal ports respectivelyhave cross-sectional areas, a sum of said cross-sectional areas being ina range from 1.5% to 20% based on a major surface area of said partitionwall.
 3. The rack assembly according to claim 2, wherein said internalports are displaced from each other in the transverse direction by afirst predetermined distance.
 4. The rack assembly according to claim 3,wherein said internal ports are displaced from each other in alongitudinal direction by a second predetermined distance, thelongitudinal direction being transverse to both of the upright directionand the transverse direction.
 5. The rack assembly according to claim 4,wherein each of said internal ports has a diameter, each of said firstand second predetermined distances being two to eight times saiddiameter.
 6. The rack assembly according to claim 1, wherein saidproximal barrier extends from said proximal marginal edge to abutagainst the bottom wall of the first one of the servers so as to ensurethat all the cooling air jets flow out of said outflow path through saidoutlet.
 7. The rack assembly according to claim 6, wherein said distalbarrier extends from said distal marginal edge to abut against the topwall of the next one of the servers so as to ensure that the cooling airflows into said outflow path through said internal ports.
 8. The rackassembly according to claim 7, wherein said partition wall is spacedapart from the bottom wall of the first one of the servers by a distanceranging from 13 mm to 45 mm.
 9. The rack assembly according to claim 1,wherein said fluid generating device includes two of said partitionwalls, which are spaced apart from each other in the upright directionin said passageway to define said inflow path therebetween, and whichare respectively spaced apart from the bottom wall of the first one ofthe servers and the top wall of the next one of the servers to definetwo of said outflow paths, respectively, two of said proximal barrierswhich extend away from each other and respectively from said proximalmarginal edges of said partition walls to abut against the bottom wallof the first one of the servers and the top wall of the next one of theservers, respectively such that all the cooling air jets flow out ofsaid outflow paths through said outlet, and said distal barrierextending from said distal marginal edge of one of said partition wallsto connect with said distal marginal edge of the other one of saidpartition walls so as to force the cooling air to flow into said outflowpaths through said internal ports of said partition walls.